cystic acne, huge visible pores, blackheads.... HELP.

I hate the complexion of my skin.

It occasionally has cystic acne that is rly beneath the skin, it bruises.
lots of black heads on the nose
and my pores are quite visible on and around the nose (cheeks ish).


I use St Ive's apricot scrub a few times a week, as a daily cleanser i use Biore - Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser.


Any recommendations that can help with reducing the visibility of pores and acne?

My doctor recommended me to use birth control, I am currently on yaz and I find that it does help, but I still get some of these horrible cystic acne.. :angry:

Thanks in advance :blush:

I'm not sure about acne, but for reducing pores:
Cellnique's sebum gel! It's really good, but it's quiet expensive (around $50 for a small bottle - you only need a pea sized amount though). This is the only product I've tried that actually visibly and permanently reduced my pores.

Imo it's worth it even with the high price. You only end up using it once or twice a week after the first week so it does last long.

have you asked your doctor to recommend you to a dermatologist? they can prescribe you good creams and monitor your progress and suggest other treatments if one doesn't work. that's how i solved my acne problem

where can i get this?

if you're on birth control pills and still getting cystic acne then it might be because the pH of your skin off
i generally have dry skin so i tend to get cystic pimples on areas where it is dry. the only advice i can offer is to use a gentler cleanser + spot treat with a strong acne cream like clean n clear's persa gel and NEVER EVER pick/pop them =S

I'm pretty sure you can only buy it from their site. Just search up cellnique and you'll find it.

I friend of mine has an issue with large pores and black heads, so she started using Shiseido products. I can't remeber which one exactly, sorry.But it helped her a lot to minimize.
Im sure if you go into the Bay or Sears or even Shoppers Drug Mart, the SA can help you pick a right product.

I had horrible, horrible acne, enough to make me want to go to med school (this September) and my thoughts:

The size of the granules of St. Ives Apricot scrub are actually fairly big and may be damaging your skin. I would get a scrub that has finer granules (my personal favorite is baking soda with water to form a paste) to exfoliate the skin.

Look for a good dermatologist. S(he) will be able to pinpoint what is going on with your skin, may it be hormones or something else; and recommend a regimen that works best for your skin type. If cystic acne gets really bad or would not go away, they can inject it with a solution that should help.

Get a facial done by a professional. Yes, this might be expensive but in my experience, starting of with a "blank slate" would help you gauge on how well a product is working for you. If you continue to get blackheads, then dump it! If you see a difference, then ==)!

how do you get a dermatologist? i have a similar problem

there's a brand called dermalogica (clean start) that my best friend uses. she had major skin problems and after using it for a month, you see progress in her skin.

You can go to your family doctor and ask for a reference to a dermatologist.

That's the only way to see a dermatologist for free. If your Doctor won't give you one, persist to see a dermatologist. You must not give in. :blush:

So, I would get to see a dermatologist for free if my doctor recommends me one? Would my discount for pharmacy medicine be applied there as well? Idk what it's called.

using your insurance to pay for products?.. depends on the product itself. you would have to call your insurance company with the product DRUG ID that they recommend

I guess if the dermatologist "prescribes" it, then it does count as a drug. but best to double check with your insurance company ^

I had the same problem. I went to a walk-in clinic and got a referral for a dermatologist. My derma tried a few things on me and the only thing that worked was accutane. I just stopped taking it last week and I'm waiting to see if the acne comes back. But all the acne is gone as well as every single blackhead. I've had blackheads 24/7 since I was about 12 and now they are completely gone. It was covered as a prescription drug under my extended health care.

how long did it take for you to see the results? i wanted to ask my dermatologist if she can put me on it but i've heard about the risky side effects such as liver disease or something

hey , if you're really worried i recommend you to go to a derm. Trust me ive experienced acne and redness and I bought TONS of over the counter products ( bought a lot of stuff from sephora which was useless T___T ) so instead of wasting money and experimenting everything on my face i went to my family doctor OR go to a walk in clinic and got a referral to a dermatologist ( Dr Alan Dodd ) I heard he's the best derm . in vancouver . So far my face has been clearing up and it has only been a month . YOU must get a refferal btw! i hope this helps

It gets worse initially... for the first month for me. But by the end of the second month 98% of my acne was gone. There are many possible side affects. Some people get a ton of them, others get very few. I had the extremely dry skin, especially on the face and lips. I also briefly got tendonitits, which lasted a month. But my liver and cholesteral levels were perfectly fine. Those are the biggest worries the doctor has. I had to take a blood test every month that I was on the pill to make sure my liver and cholesterol levels were okay.

accutane isnt great. its got a tone of side effects x.x .. and plus it can screw up your liver emzymes x.x .. thats why i cose birth control for my acne med xD .. so it plus mario badescu skin care routine has cleared up my face completley from the occasional small zit ..

I was dealing with a bunch of acne problems 2-3 months ago starting from the end of summer 2010.

Cystic Acne
Extremely clogged pores on t-zone & cheeks
Uneven texture

I basically had blemish all over my face and my friends and family would comment and tell me to:
1. Stop washing my face so much
2. Don't eat this and that
3. Stop wearing makeup

Honestly, none of that helps. Instead the stress of it gave me more acne eruptions on my forehead.

After I started to change my diet and skincare routine it's been a whole lot better!
I don't get cystic acne, lesser blackheads (I extract about 1 per month or so), almost no breakouts, and smoother texture. I now only have contact dermatitis which is basically rashing which I've been dealing with since 3 years ago (THE FACE SHOP BB CREAM IS HORRIBLE!).

1. Cut out dairy & rice.
Dairy cows are injected or fed hormones to increase milk production and sometime this can affect the milk as well. There will be estrogen levels in the milk which may cause your hormones to be unbalanced.
Rice is basically ALL STARCH and some amino acids. The sudden spike in sugar levels in your blood may stress your body into trying to balance it. I'm not sure how this helped me but after I cut out rice I had less breakouts.

2. Taking Omega-3 Capsules everyday w/ food.
I'm not sure if you have heard, but the imbalance of fatty acids in your diet also contribute to acne. When it's unbalance it causes skin to easily be irritated and inflamed which equals a breakout. Most people in the Americas have horrible ratios of 50:1 or 6:1 of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids when we're suppose to have either 1:2, 2:1, or 1:1.

3. Using a sulfate free cleanser.
I use to use Dove Sensitive Essentials Foaming Cleanser but it broke me out just as badly even though it claims to be gentle. It doesn't wash off makeup well too. However, my sulfate free SpectroDerm Cleanser is super gentle but doesn't take off makeup. After a time me and my friend went to DAISO to buy her a cheap cleanser; I looked at the ingredients and found a bunch there where the main ingredient was myristic acid which is lower on the comedogenic scale than sodium lauryl sulfate. At least 4 of my friends have benefited from using cleansers from Daiso. Acne subsided faster and less/no breakouts in general. I use the "DOUBLE CLEANSING" cleanser and it's been working really well for me. It takes my makeup off completely and seems to leave my skin brighter after using it. A little bit goes a long way and it foams up well. The ingredients are similiar to Shiseido Perfect Whip & Kracie Naive Foam Cleanser. For $2 a tube you won't be wasting your money. I went there last time and stocked up on 6.

4. Exfoliation, exfoliation, exfoliation.
If you use a thick foundation or regular BB cream without proper exfoliation; expect clogged pores which lead to breakouts. No matter which BB Cream I've tried I've always gotten clogged pores because I didn't cleanse it off properly. OIL CLEANSING METHOD FOR SILICONE BASED PRODUCTS? No please. I broke out extremely bad with cleansing oil. Left my skin extremely chapped and irritated. I now use 8% BHA Toner from Silk Naturals and Neutrogena 3-in-1 Hydrating Acne Treatment 2% Salicylic Acid. I use both together at night and just the treatment in the morning and it always smoothens the texture of my skin and makes clogged pores rise to the surface so I can easily extract them. As well I also use the St.Ive Blemish Scrub Salicylic Acid 2% on my T-Zone every night or other night before the other acids I use.

5. Either stop using BB Cream or use a foundation.
BB Cream is MUCH THICKER than foundation and covers pores because of its thick consistency. Changing to a foundation which is more liquidy should definitely decrease clogged pores.. but it really depends on the person. Some people with large pores may breakout from anything.

6. Moisturize your skin.
Super dry skin breaks out too because the dead skin can clog your pores so make sure you properly moisturize after cleansing and especially after exfoliating. I hope that helps... it helped me alot and now I don't need to go out with a face full of BB Cream